In the field of optical communication, there is a pressing need to improve the capacity of optical networks. Increasing the capacity of the optical networks may be achieved by increasing the transmission rate in which the information is sent along the optical fibers of the networks. However, increasing the data rate in the optical communication networks faces several major and challenging obstacles, such as, increasing the switching speed and reducing the Chromatic Dispersions (CD) and the Polarization Mode Dispersions (PMD). The currently used optical communication networks already implement the cutting edge technology in terms of switching speeds and dispersion compensation and operate at a rate to 10 Giga Bits Per Second (10 Gbps). The future goal is to move into a higher rate of data that would be 40 Gbps. However, the technology for 40 Gbps is not available yet and it does not seem that it would be available, and for a reasonable price, in the near future. Thus, a solution for the need to increase the volume of the optical communication network should be done in a way that does not involve increase of data transmission rate.
Increasing of the volume of the transmitted information without an increase of the transmitted data rate may be achieved using more efficient protocols to transmit more information when using the same amount of transmitted bits. Such a protocol is known as data compression. To create efficient data compression in optical communication networks, the compression should be done in the optical domain. Data compression in the optical domain saves the use of expensive Optical-Electrical-Optical (O-E-O) converters and allows applying the compression on the optical pulses (bits) in the form that they are actually sent.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an all-optical data compression system;
Another object of the present invention is to provide an all-optical data compression system capable of receiving multiple data channels where each of the data channel operates at a certain data rate and sending the information of all the multiple data channels along a single data channel operating at the same data rate as each of the multiple data channels;
Another object of the present invention is to provide an all-optical data compression system capable of receiving multiple data channels at multiple inputs where each of the data channel operates at a certain data rate, sending the information of all the multiple data channels along a single data channel operating at the same data rate as each of the multiple data channels, and demultiplexing each of the multiple data channels from one input to one output, and
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an all-optical data compression system using optical phase modulation.